Last year, I posted a video on How Not to Get Arrested. Well, assuming you screwed the pooch on that part, you are going to get taken into the station, booked, and probably interrogated. At that point the MOST important thing you can do is remain silent and ask for a lawyer. In law school, one of my favorite classes was Criminal Procedure. The professor taught us about all of the sneaky tricks cops use to induce confessions, which is the most surefire way to get a conviction. I recently came across an article detailing in laymen’s terms how these interrogations are conducted to maximize the likelihood of a confession.

The article is fascinating for all the psychological tricks the police use to induce confessions. But if you need to learn only one thing from the article, it is this list:Five Techniques of Surviving a Police Interrogation (Without Confessing)

Remain silent.

Remain silent!

Imagine the words “I invoke my right to remain silent” painted on the wall, and stare at them throughout the interrogation.

Momentarily break your silence to ask for counsel. When you ask for a lawyer, the interrogation MUST stop.

Cultivate hatred for your interrogator so you don’t fall into his traps and start talking.

When You’ve Got Company The Just Cause Law Collective warns that if you’re arrested with friends, you’ve got to keep a cool head. Decide beforehand that no one’s going to say a word until everyone has a lawyer, and remind yourself that police will try to play on the natural paranoia that arises when people are separated. The Collective offers a further warning regarding a group arrest: When you have your strategy discussion, don’t do it in the back seat of a police car. If the officers stuffed you all into one car and walked away, they’re recording you.

3 Responses to “Surviving a Police Interrogation.”

#4. Wrong. Thats when the questions begin. So, do you need a lawyer for this case? Thats something only a guilty person says. Its too late to get a lawyer today, lets talk. ect. At this point they more than likely havent even told you why your there, they want you to tell them why they have you.

keep in mind that the simple movements that you make can also be psychoanalyzed by an officer during an interrogation. for example, if you’re thinking of something about what happened during “the incident” that got you in there, the direction your eyes look can say a lot. and more importantly, keep still, and if you’re really confident, stare directly at your interrogator’s eyes and don’t look away. and don’t shake or even move a muscle. and if you keep a slight smile or smirk on your face, this will show that you have the upper-hand and that you know what you’re doing more than not.